Before we start this story, I would like to make a few things clear about the direction it will be taking. First and foremost, this story will not have romance. Period. If you're looking for that, I suggest you hit that back button. Secondly, the focus of this story will be Ash and his interactions with his team; how they grow together, and to what lengths they will go for each-other. Third, the supernatural tag is there for a reason. There will be some serious things going down, and I'm making up some ideas that are most definitely not classified as normal. Fourth, trainers start their journeys at the age of 16 here; the idea of sending prepubescent children out into the world alone is beyond idiotic; and that's before you factor in the supernatural, reality-defying beasts that are pokemon. Lastly, this will not be a light-hearted story; that M rating is for a reason. It will at times be very touching, but it will also at other times be horrific; this is a story in which slinging around beams of energy don't 'lightly scorch' people, they incinerate them.
Disclaimer: If it wasn't already painfully obvious, I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape, or form. That honor lies with Game Freak and Nintendo; I just enjoy playing in their sandpit.
For readers of my old stories:
….Well, for those who knew me before; it's been a while, hasn't it? To make a long story short, I make no excuses for my absence but will simply say this; life has a way of really kicking you in the gonads. But this is a story, not a life rant; I'll be updating my profile soon for those who want a little more detail of what my return entails, but for now and without further ado:
Aarik076 presents, for your pleasure;
The Road Less Traveled
Prologue
If you were to ask anyone in Pallet Town what first came to mind when given mention the name "Ash Ketchum", you would get a variety of answers, but most would hover somewhere around 'hyper', 'ball-of-sunshine', 'outgoing', and in the case of a certain professor's grandson, 'dork'. For all of these answers except perhaps the last, they would be absolutely right. Eight-year-old Ash Ketchum was for all intents and purposes a nigh-inexhaustible ball of energy that flitted around town and Professor Oak's ranch when not in school (in which case he simply vibrated at his desk). If one was foolish enough to even mention the word 'pokemon' within his vicinity, they would likely find themselves at the nonexistent mercy of his endless, inarticulate babble about the subject.
One would hope that at home, his parents would reign in his hyper-exuberance, if only for their own sanity. One would also be greatly dismayed to find out that quite the opposite occurred. For starters, there is only one parent; one Delia Ketchum. Ash never knew his father, and due to the melancholic, faraway look his mother gained the few times he asked, he simply stopped asking. That being said, his passion for pokemon was matched by Delia; her apprenticeship to Professor Oak was more than proof enough of that. When together at home, Ash would listen with rapt attention to his mother as she ranted about theories and discoveries; even when he could only understand half of them on a good day. In spite of his lack of understanding (or perhaps due to it), Ash studied anything about pokemon with a zeal unmatched, even if the same could not be said for other scholastic subjects.
Such was Ash's zeal and passion for pokemon that he was already gaining the attention of the laudable Professor Oak, who saw the same potential in him as he did in his mother; either as a trainer or as a professor. When not at home or at school, Ash would be at the ranch with the pokemon within; or at least the ones permitted by the professor. Suffice to say, with a mother who loved pokemon (and Ash) with a feverish passion, the eye of one of the most famous professors in the world, and his growing friendships with a multitude of pokemon in the ranch, life couldn't get much better for Ash Ketchum.
Halfway through his eighth year, Delia Ketchum died.
If you were to ask Delia if she had any issue with her apprenticeship to Oak, it would be the attention that it drew. In his prime, Professor Oak was a trainer rumored to be on par with the elite four; according to Agatha of the aforementioned elite four, he actually turned down a position with them. Instead, he chose to dedicate his life to the study of pokemon and the fields of study surrounding them. His work in theoretical physics helped design the backpacks most trainers use today; packs that are able to not only hold more than their outside would appear, but at a far reduced weight. His sponsorship of new trainers (and subsequently their pokemon at his ranch) is the only reason why the tiny town of Pallet is even on the map. This enabled him to not only help bolster the influx of trainers for the League, but it enabled him to study the interactions between pokemon on an up-close basis. Combined with his extensive knowledge of physics and the cooperation of fellow professors, this enabled the design and production of specialty pokeballs suited for a variety of different purposes and types. In short, he was a goldmine of knowledge all about pokemon; and thus so was his laboratory.
Whether it was planned or not, the thieves chose the perfect time to raid the laboratory; Professor Oak was away at a conference in Mossdeep City when they struck using a simple, yet shockingly effective tactic; they dressed up as the janitorial staff that sterilized the lab every night. That being said, everyone who entered the laboratory either had to have one of two things to get in; be let in by someone already inside, or have a fingerprint and passcode registered in the system. Waiting until the sun had just set, the two men approached the door and knocked, putting on puzzled looks with a hint of frustration while one played at entering the passcode and fingerprint. Delia, having been the only person inside at the time and getting ready to leave, saw the supposed janitorial staff and huffed in irritation before making the worst mistake of her life; she opened the door to see what was wrong.
As soon as the lock unlatched, the man standing by the door lurched his considerable weight against the door violently; sending the far lighter Delia tumbling into the lab as the two men quickly entered. It quickly became apparent what they were after as they grabbed the now frightened woman and began trying to get her to access the research files; files worth a lot of money to certain groups. Delia, while scared out of her mind, still had the clarity of mind to press one of the many panic buttons located in hidden areas around the lab; in particular under the desk they shoved her against. The effect was immediate; reinforced metal shutters immediately slammed down on all windows and doors, and the computer systems went into lockdown while an emergency signal was immediately sent to the police station located at nearby Viridian City.
Naturally, this did not sit too well with the thieves. One pulled out a nasty looking nightstick and had a look of murder about him before the other realized their situation and stopped him; the only thing they had going for them was their current hostage. That being said, neither wanted to be there when the police showed up, so one reached onto his belt and pulled out a pokeball, releasing what appeared to be a bigger pokeball…if not for the eyes said ball had. After identifying the pokemon, Delia's eyes widened in fear; there were not many people who used the voltorb line, and many of those who did had only one purpose in mind for them.
Her fears were confirmed when the one who released it dragged her further away from the door, while commanding the voltorb to move next to said door and destroy it by means of the move explosion. This was the man's first and last mistake of the night, and would prove to be a catastrophic one.
To explain why, one must first understand the mechanics behind the move. Typically, the voltorb line excels at the move self-destruct, the less powerful variant. Self-destruct is a simple, yet devastating move; the user gathers all of its remaining energy and expels it all at once at a dangerous rate, causing a small yet potent explosion around them. Having so much energy expelled all at once not only harms the user, but exhausts them to the point of unconsciousness. Explosion on the other hand, is far more dangerous. The user once more gathers all of their energy, but then they polarize it; for the voltorb line, this would mean compressing it with a magnetic field. The user continues to compress the energy until it is dangerously pressurized, then forms a quick but powerful charge of the same polarity in the core of the energy while dropping the field keeping it in place; making the explosion far quicker, violent and potent. For a pokemon who has mastered the move, they will be dealt about the same damage they would have taken with self-destruct…however, mastering a move of such magnitude takes not only great patience but skill; both of which these thieves lacked. For a pokemon who did not have the move mastered, they could easily kill themselves if they used too much energy.
In the end, it was ultimately a lack of knowledge on the technique and bad luck that spelled disaster. Having been recently fed via a wall socket at their motel room in Viridian the night before, the voltorb was full of energy. In addition to this, the place they instructed it to explode was two feet away from the wall panel that contained the powerbox of the lab inside; complete with the main land-line connection. Several things happened when the voltorb obeyed; it drew in as much of its electricity as it could, formed a strong polarized magnetic field around it…and was very surprised when the extremely strong polarized field attracted the power flowing from the land line nearby. To the three nearby, it simply looked as if a lightning bolt exploded from the nearby wall and struck the voltorb. Aforementioned pokemon only had the time to widen its eyes in abject terror before the surge of energy destabilized the internal field and flew into the now dangerously unstable mass of energy inside.
To Delia, when that small pokemon underwent partial sublimation, it felt like Zapdos itself had flown down and barreled into her; for the half-second she was conscious that is. The two thieves, having been a little closer to the explosion, instantly had the skin facing the explosion waft off their bodies like smoke, while the pressure-wave pulped their internal organs and the surge of electricity flash-cooked the pudding aforementioned organs became. Delia, having been behind them and shielded with their bodies, only suffered burst eardrums and a concussion from the pressure. That unfortunately mattered little, as the surge of electricity caused her to go into cardiac arrest while shrapnel from the remains of Voltorb punched through her body. All three of them were thrown into the opposite wall of the lab, while the explosion ripped open the corner of the lab it resided in like a tin can with a cherry bomb thrown inside.
Five minutes later there was a group of bright flashes as a team of league alakazams teleported in a small legion of firemen, medical staff and police officers, whose growlithes were quick to rush in while the firemen quickly released their water pokemon to control the flames. One minute after the dogs entered, the body of Delia was discovered, miraculously still alive but in critical condition. With quick yet steady work, she was loaded onto one of the stretchers and was quickly teleported back to the hospital in Viridian City, the medical personnel ignoring the horrified onlookers.
Upon return to the hospital, Delia underwent defibrillation due to cardiac dysrhythmias three times in five minutes; not long after, time of death was given by the presiding doctor at 9:18 pm.
Ash Ketchum became a ward of the League before the end of the hour.
The next morning, a tired, sore, and disbelieving Professor Oak dismounted his enormous charizard and beheld a destroyed laboratory, a swarm of League personnel, and a very still and quiet Ash Ketchum seated on a cot.
-Scene Break-
The following months were some of the most painful that Professor Oak had ever experienced. Knowing that unless he did something, Ash Ketchum would experience the unpleasant life of going from caregiver to caregiver as a ward of the League, Oak volunteered to be Ash's caregiver; he was already raising Gary and his house was more than big enough. Given his illustrious career and clear evidence of his ability to raise children via his grandson, his request was quickly granted.
Unfortunately, that was the easiest part. Ash had withdrawn almost entirely into himself. Gone was his jovial, energetic self; in its place was a quiet, easily-missed child whom seldom spoke. The psychiatrists and councilors provided by the League heavily suspected post-traumatic stress disorder and were worried he was bottling his emotions inside; and for good reason. Even when he was first informed about his mother's demise, Ash didn't shed a tear; first in denial, then he simply seemed to fold into himself. If he ever did cry, he did so when nobody was around to hear or see him.
As one might imagine, Ash's social life suffered greatly for this; he became a near recluse at school, and his grades were a study in polarization. In all of his classes, he scraped by with the absolute bare minimum; the sole exception being the study of pokemon, which it was obvious he now focused entirely on. Gary Oak, once Ash's rival and (though they wouldn't admit it) best friend, quickly grew disenchanted with this new Ash. Professor Oak had explained the situation to him beforehand, yet he was only nine. He understood the words yet not their true impact; to him, this new Ash was boring and unsettling to be around. By the time of Ash's 9th birthday, their friendship was a shadow of its former glory.
Not long after Ash's birthday, and watching as everything he tried to do to get Ash to socialize failed miserably, Professor Oak was at his wit's end. The combination of repairing his laboratory, increasing security, recovering his research and caring for his ranch on top of caring for Gary and a reclusive Ash caused him to do what in hindsight was his best idea. Without saying a word, Oak marched into Ash's room, hauled the somewhat startled boy over his shoulder, marched over to his laboratory, through it then out to the back where his ranch started, then settled the boy on the ground and went back inside the lab to continue his work.
The sun was setting when Oak remembered that yes, he did put a small nine-year-old child outside with the pokemon about seven hours ago. Rushing to the back of the lab and feeling absolutely wretched for his forgetfulness, Oak nearly panicked when he couldn't see Ash. Immediately, he headed out into the ranch, hell-bent on finding the child and apologizing on his knees if he must. It was nearly thirty minutes later and much colder that he began to truly worry; winter was well on its way and it was extremely unwise for a child to be outside at night.
Thankfully for the professor, one of his own pokemon found him and loped up, already having a good idea of why he was outside tonight. With a gruff yet gentle bark, his arcanine grabbed his attention before gesturing for him to follow. Within minutes, they arrived at a scene that shocked, confused, and relieved him all at once; in a small clearing in the wooded section of the ranch, lied one Ash Ketchum…but he was not alone. Around him laid a handful of young pokemon; two growlithe pups, a squirtle, and a meowth. All of them had sprawled out in the way children do when they're too tired to even care where they sleep and just drop. Judging by the dust, stains and leaves all over each of them, it was apparent they had a good day of playing; what was even better was that Ash too had similar signs; he even had a tiny smile on his face! Yet that was not the most surprising part; the biggest shock was just who was providing the warmth for these young ones. With the tip of her tail acting as a veritable campfire, his massive charizard lay behind them all, shifting her eyes between the young ones and Oak.
While she was not by any means a cruel pokemon, she was still a charizard; and they were a prideful species. Considering how powerful she was in her prime (and arguably still was), she was more prideful than most; yet here she was acting as a glorified heater. Still, he wasn't going to ruin this good fortune by being nosy, so he carefully picked up the exhausted boy and began his walk back home, not knowing how the future shifted because of his simple act today, nor the steady gaze of his charizard on the child as he walked away.
-Scene Break-
Unknowingly to Professor Oak, that day set what would soon become the precedent when it came to finding Ash Ketchum. In the following weeks, a new routine was observed by the people of Pallet. If Ash was not in school, he was in one of two places; asleep in his room or at the ranch, and sometimes he didn't even return to his room to sleep. In his depression, Ash had forgotten his passion; he excelled in his pokemon classes because that's what he and his mom used to do; it reminded him of her. It wasn't until Prof. Oak set him down in the ranch that his love for pokemon slowly blossomed forth again.
Unbeknownst to him or Oak, Flare (Oak's charizard), had watched from afar as the child slowly began to play with the younger pokemon; she was curious about the child, mainly due to the fact that she had never seen a young child in the reserve unguarded. It was only once the wind blew his scent her way that she found out several important tidbits of information. His scent was almost unbearably bitter and stale, a strong hint that he had been extremely sad for a prolonged period of time, and was very sedentary as well. Along with his scent was the familiar scent of her trainer, but confusingly that was it. All children, whether pokemon or human, had the scent of their parents on them, especially at such a young age. This, combined with the prior hint of deep sadness, pointed to an uncomfortably likely fact; his parents were dead or he was abandoned. This discovery, along with maternal instincts long dormant, is what made her approach the boy when he started to shiver in the cold night air.
His wide, adoring eyes and the small smile that curved his lips is what made her stay.
The next few years saw a transformation overcome the boy; while he was by no means a sociable person (to humans), he at the very least would engage in conversation if pushed; even if it was somewhat stilted and awkward conversation. His grades rose from the barely passing standard back up to acceptable ranges; it was clear they weren't going to get much more than that out of him. Unfortunately, his circle of human friends no longer existed; Gary had long since moved on to less 'boring' kids, and the other children followed suit.
While his interactions with his fellow humans improved moderately, his interactions with pokemon was meteoric. Every day he had off, and every moment of free time he had, you could guarantee he would be somewhere inside the ranch. He ate with pokemon, slept with pokemon (if Oak didn't find him), played with pokemon, and communicated with pokemon. Admittedly, it was a rather one-sided communication; they could understand him perfectly, but he struggled every day to understand them via their physical and verbal queues. Yet as the months turned into years, his struggles slowly paid off; he doubted he would ever understand them like he was talking to a human, but he definitely had a firm grasp on the ideas and meanings they were trying to pass onto him.
In Flare, he found an adoptive mother. While he had by no means forgotten his own mother, nor would he ever, he found a warmth (both literally and metaphorically) in Flare that he desperately needed. This was reciprocated by the quasi-dragon, who in the early stages of their growing relationship decided if her trainer and the other humans weren't going to raise him properly (for her idea of properly), then she would just do it herself…with maybe a little help. She wasn't really sure what green things he could eat, since she was a carnivore herself. So, whenever he wasn't playing and roughing around with the young pokemon, Flare and a few other adult pokemon taught him how to track, swim, move silently, forage, and the various different uses of berries; both for medicinal purposes and for nutrition. They tried to get him to learn what different scents meant, but quickly learned that humans had a mind-bogglingly bad sense of smell compared to pokemon, and quickly gave that idea up.
For Ash, his life had gone from a waking nightmare to something approaching paradise. While he had lost most of his old connections to the people of Pallet with the exception of Professor Oak, he had gained so much more from the pokemon residing within the ranch. Most nights he slept with Flare, and the nights he was found by Professor Oak were becoming less frequent as his skills at hiding improved. Admittedly, Professor Oak wasn't really worried; quite the opposite in fact. Flare was second only to his dragonite in strength, and it was a very close second. Add in her now very protective nature towards Ash, and he rather pitied the idiot that tried to remove the boy from her; he doubted there would be enough of them left for a ziplock bag to hold.
In addition to his newfound friends and family, his new lifestyle had yet more benefits being slowly unveiled as he aged. His skin, once a pale off-white due to spending considerable time indoors, had turned a deep tan all the while thickening considerably; playing rough with creatures vastly stronger than you quickly helped clue your body into the idea of thicker skin being a wise choice. Play-wrestling, tracking, swimming, climbing and running for large parts of the day saw his physique undergo a steady transformation; by the time he was 13, he had barely any hint of fat on him. His muscles, while not overly apparent, were lithe and dense, and his stamina easily outpaced everyone in Pallet. Thanks to his new nutrition regiment forced by his adoptive mother and the other adult pokemon, his body had all the required nutrients it needed to flourish; that combined with his newly found puberty (breaking voice and all), found him undergoing a great deal of growing, both in height and in muscle mass.
However, all of this was overshadowed by Flare's quiet reveal not long after Ash's thirteenth birthday. As things were winding down for the night, and Ash was getting ready to bed down as usual, Flare stopped him with a quiet grunt and a gesture to follow. She led them into one of the denser parts of the forest within the ranch, all the while being careful with her tail flame. Eventually she found a spot that suited her purposes, and with a few swipes of her claws gouged a shallow pit in the ground. Gesturing for Ash to simply sit in front of her, she laid down so she was facing him, folding her wings in such a way that he couldn't see behind her. He was confused by her actions but obeyed, sitting in front of her while she began to make odd motions with her body; this lasted for a good ten minutes before with a grimace, she tensed and just as quickly relaxed.
Ash was still confused, especially when she craned her neck behind her to check on something, before looking back at Ash. He wasn't sure why, but something was off, yet not in a bad way. He got his answer about the same time as Flare slowly lifted her right wing…and suddenly he couldn't breathe. Sitting in the shallow pit she dug was a solitary orange and yellow oval…an egg. He had a flurry of questions fly through his head, primarily how the hell she had hidden the fact she was gravid from everyone, but all these were shoved aside when he himself received a gentle shove from Flare, reminding him that yes, he needed to breathe. After regaining his breath (and a snort of amusement from Flare), Ash was nudged towards the egg. Getting the point he slowly approached the egg, getting on his knees as he got close enough. Reaching out with an odd emotional mix of awe, terror, and hope, he gently touched it, not surprised at the almost scalding temperature of the egg.
It took him a moment, but when he snapped out of it he nearly teleported onto Flare's neck as he hugged her with all his might, happy beyond words for her. Just as quickly, he detached himself from her and began looking around frantically, his studies quickly coming into play as he started looking around for the direction of the small lake that inhabited the ranch; he needed clay! Soft grass and moss would burn away under the heat of both the egg and its mother, but clay would hold it firm and insulate it well when it firmed under the heat. He was just about to dart off towards the lake when two very large clawed hands hooked themselves under each armpit and effortlessly placed him down again next to the egg, before putting pressure on his shoulders in a clear gesture to lay down. He did so, but not before shooting a confused look at Flare. She in return gave him an amused huff; he seemed more excited about the egg than she did! Regardless, she managed to convey that one night without the supportive clay wouldn't hurt it, and without further ado laid her head down; a clear indication that it was time for sleep.
The next day saw a stunned Professor Oak doing a checkup on the condition of the egg, his mind still reeling from the fact that Flare had hidden the fact she was gravid so well. Then again, considering her size versus the single egg, he supposed it wouldn't be all that hard. He was also surprised to see just how close she let Ash stay near it; it was one thing to suspect Flare had adopted him, it was another thing to see the concrete evidence in front of himself. Speaking of Ash, he had never seen him so consumed as he was with the egg; whereas before the teenager would be consumed with playing and interacting with the pokemon, now he had to be nearly dragged away from the egg for anything…and he talked to it. A lot. Oak was well aware of the theory concerning the baby being aware of the outside world long before it hatched, but Ash seemed to be convinced it could hear everything, unproven theory be damned. In any case, he wouldn't do anything to dissuade him; while not quite the way he was hoping, Ash had still come out of his shell (even if only to Pokemon).
The following weeks were both endearing and frustrating to Flare and his other pokemon 'trainers'. On one hand, they had never seen nor heard of a human so incredibly attached to a pokemon egg; sure trainers and breeders were typically very happy to learn of them, but Ash's exuberance matched Flare's own. On the other hand, getting him to do anything out of sight from the egg proved its own challenge. Thankfully for the sanity of everyone involved, the incubation time for pokemon eggs are typically rather short, and within three weeks the egg finally hatched. Those few who were allowed close enough to watch witnessed something wondrous.
Naturally when the egg hatched Flare was there, with Ash to her left. Flare was clearly talking quietly to the hatchling inside, most likely soft words of encouragement; Ash meanwhile could be mistaken for a detailed sculpture for all that he moved. It took nearly five minutes before the rambunctious hatchling inside decided it had quite enough of its prison and with a tiny, muffled squeal a small orange, clawed foot tore through the egg. After that initial breach, the leg withdrew before two tiny clawed hands came into view, frantically clawing at the widening hole; it was not long after that the newborn charmander tumbled out of the egg, head flopping onto the ground with a huff. All was quiet for a few moments before Flare leaned towards the baby and began to clean him of the leftover fluid and pieces of egg still on him. Proving the vast difference between a human baby and a pokemon one, the charmander took a few moments before shakily rising to his feet, his tail serving as a stabilizer momentarily.
For Ash, he was amazed at how quickly the charmander adapted to his legs, and watched as mother and son stared at one another for a moment before the charmander snuggled into her side, his eyes squint shut and a pleased sigh escaping him. During the next few minutes, mother and son greeted each other properly for the first time, and Ash was more than content to watch the loving scene from the sidelines; simply basking in the moment. Yet for Ash, fate had other ideas; it was quiet but made all the difference. Ash let out a small sigh of contentment…yet that was all it took.
The small, adorable charmander who had been snuggling into his mother's side, upon hearing the sigh, snapped his head in Ash's direction. Ash felt his breath stumble to a halt in his throat, yet it was not fear that caused such a reaction; it was awe. The charmander's eyes were a light blue; what most would term an 'icy blue' in contrast with his mother's ocean blue eyes….yet contrary to such a description, what Ash saw was the opposite. In those eyes Ash saw a passion that threatened to consume him; it was the color of flames so hot they nearly burned white. Perhaps what was even more shocking was that they were not confused or startled; those eyes stared at him with a deep familiarity. Ash was starting to wonder if it could have been his sigh of all things that it recognized, before it started toddling over his direction.
In moments, but what felt like ages to Ash, the small charmander was right in front of his form, while Ash had unknowingly sunk to his knees as the baby approached. Both gazed into the other's eyes, one searchingly while the other was simply amazed at the vibrancy of sheer life that flowed through the other; to the other pokemon it was somewhat eerie…all except Flare, who looked on with a calm expression on her visage. As Ash stared into those eyes he was once again reminded of flames; flames hot enough to consume everything, and was reminded of an old story back when all types of religions still stood strong. A story of an entity whose flames could scorch everything and usher in something new in its wake.
Unbidden, a name slipped from his lips. "Surtr…"
While none of the pokemon knew the significance of the name, that did not seem to matter to the charmander. As soon as the name was uttered, it's eyes widened and a grin make its way across his face before he closed the distance further, climbing to stand on top of Ash's thighs as he gave an expectant gaze towards the boy. Ash, now with a gentle smile of his own, lowered his own head to meet the now dubbed Surtr's, though he knew not why he felt the need to. As their foreheads connected, each closed their eyes for a minute, reveling in something they could not quite grasp. When they finally opened their eyes again, both broke into wide grins while Ash spoke in the ensuing silence.
"Welcome to the world, little brother."
-Scene Break-
For the next few years, the routine for Ash stayed very similar to what it had before, but with one additional addendum; or rather, one additional being. Whenever Ash was within the ranch (which was every possible minute he could get away with), you could find a charmander with him. It was painfully obvious to Professor Oak that the two would not be separated, thus he silently registered Surtr into the starter program; letting Ash know he would only offer him as a starter when Ash graduated. During the first weeks after his hatching, Surtr could be found clinging to Ash's back or sitting down near him and watching attentively as Ash was taught and in turn taught Surtr; he wasn't quite ready for heavy physical training. Yet with most things concerning pokemon, their bodies mature far faster than a human's and within a month the charmander could be found play-wrestling and learning right alongside of Ash. In the evening, they would both brainstorm on ways to improve techniques and enhance training; it was an unspoken but obvious fact that Surtr would be leaving with Ash when he started his journey. For them, life was good; they had found a brother in the other and Flare looked on fondly, feeling more complete than she had ever felt before.
Yet for all the joys they were having, the same could not be said for Pallet Town; the attack on the lab was showing its consequences. The majority of the populace in Pallet Town had been there for one of two reasons; to be close to the renowned Professor Oak in hopes of their children being one of his sponsored trainers, or to hopefully find themselves as an apprentice under him, and in doing so cementing a vibrant career. This being said, the attack on the lab and subsequent death of Delia Ketchum was a brutal reality check for the vast majority; being near such a well-known figure could bring fortune….yet it could also bring destruction.
For most, this was too much for them; it took years after the explosion, but slowly the population of Pallet Town dwindled to the point where it could no longer be considered a town and was given the dubious classification of "Oak Research Facility". Some of the town's buildings closer to the lab were repurposed by the league to house smaller research labs, whilst the others were either broken down for materials or left as they were 'just in case'.
Yet despite the fact that Pallet Town no longer existed, that did not mean the school stopped; the League was loathe to let such potential talent under Oak go to waste; instead the League offered transportation services from the nearby Viridian City so that aspiring trainers from there could learn under Oak's tutelage in lieu of the now abandoned town. In addition to this, they also increased security at the laboratory to help reassure the populace by stationing a few ACE trainers at the facility.
Naturally, the chance to have one's child taught by Oak, along with the additional security, was a very strong draw to the parents of aspiring trainers. Unfortunately this had an unintended side effect; simple supply and demand. Professor Oak only had so much time to teach; he also had many vital research projects and a ranch to run. This meant that the amount of students he took in was severely limited; thus as with all things in short supply but high demand, this meant that tuition was expensive if one wished to send their child there. As a consequence, it was no surprise that the children who attended were from affluent families; they wanted for nothing, and were very used to this fact.
Gary Oak was thrilled by this surge of 'new blood'. For him, this was an opportunity to make new friends; friends he could relate to. Being the son of Professor Oak meant he lived well above what most of the children from 'Old Pallet' had, and while he got on well enough with them, these new ones he could really relate to.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Ash. His constantly rough/stained clothing, combined with his outdoor tan and somewhat quiet demeanor almost immediately destroyed any hope of a friendship with these new children; they were just too different. That being said, it honestly didn't bother Ash that much; at this point he went to school because Oak let him know in no unclear terms that if he wanted his trainer's license once he hit sixteen that he would have to pass; and that meant showing up for class. Considering that becoming a trainer was the only guaranteed way to let Surtr come with him, he grudgingly went to school.
Unbeknownst to Ash, while most of the new students wanted nothing to do with him, one was rather interested in him; if only in a disgusted fascination. The boy was one year ahead of Ash, and came from one of the more powerful, affluent families in Viridian. There were times the boy would catch a glance of Ash before or after school at the ranch, and would watch in bewilderment as he played with the pokemon. However, his bewilderment changed to calculation as he quickly noticed a pattern; Ash always had a charmander with him. Always. He also noticed that Ash appeared to be training the fire lizard; or at least increasing its endurance and physical capabilities, if the constant wrestling they got into was any indication.
While the boy found himself hard-pressed to catch sight Ash at the ranch each day, as the days turned to weeks and then months, he had caught onto a pattern that let him observe them more often; and a plan hatched. Ash was obviously not a trainer yet, and had no pokeballs, so the charmander wasn't his; and no trainer worth their salt would let a pokemon with such potential rot in a ranch…so that left it as a possible starter pokemon. With a twisted smirk on his face, the boy turned away; it would seem he needed to have a talk with his father tonight.
-Scene Break-
Professor Oak was shaking.
A veritable swarm of emotions were tearing their way through him at the moment, the most potent of which was fear, sadness, and rage. He had just received a call from the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni, with a nigh glowing recommendation towards one of his students. Aforementioned recommendation also was quite clear that said student had formally put in his requested starter pokemon as a charmander. It was not a coincidence that the student he praised also just happened to be the heir of one of Viridian City's most influential politicians; one with ties to the Indigo Plateau itself. Giovanni may have been a fearsome gym leader, but he was even more so a political monster; the message was all too clear. Oak even bet Giovanni knew he only had one charmander.
Usually, this would not be a problem; students slated to graduate from the academy to become a trainer submitted their desired starter pokemon two months before graduation, with a few limiters as to what they could choose. Excluding dragons, ghosts and 'pseudo-legendaries', students were free to choose from a large list, with second and third desired pokemon also listed, just in case. The two months enabled Professor Oak to either find the pokemon via the league or other connections, or in rare cases, catch them himself.
If he was given two months he would not have an issue; but the call was made today; five days from graduation. While uncommon, there were trainers that opted out of choosing their starter; he had mistakenly thought the boy was one of them. If he was any other child his request would have been denied due to its late submission…but even in the league, one could find dirty politicians. If he denied the request, he was under no illusion that Giovanni would find out that he did indeed have a charmander registered as a starter. If he was to refuse the request while he had said pokemon, without an appropriate reason, he could have his own license revoked, renowned professor or not. If that happened, the multitude of trainers he sponsored would have to suddenly look elsewhere, not to mention he couldn't sponsor or help his own son or Ash. Unfortunately, saying another student a year under him wanted the charmander was not a sufficient reason.
He had no choice. And he had no clue how to tell Ash.
-Scene Break-
Ash was relieved; the school year had ended, and he had an entire summer to look forward to spending with Flare and Surtr before having to go back for one last year. He was slightly jealous of the graduate class; not only do they get to start their adventure, they also had today off to receive their starters and accessories from Professor Oak. As Ash ran back to the house to drop off his backpack, he mulled over that last thought.
'Speaking of the prof, what's been up with him this week? He's hardly spoke to me or even to much as looked my way….maybe he's hit a snag in his research again; he tends to get grumpy when that happens.'
Caught up in his musings, he almost ran into the fence surrounding the ranch. Laughing to himself at his inattention, he casually vaulted himself over the fence and into the ranch proper, the pokemon within not even blinking at the sight, having been well used to it by now. In no time at all he found Flare in one of her usual haunts, but while she was near the large boulder she liked to sun-bathe on, she was not actually on it; she appeared restless. Even more odd was that Surtr was nowhere to be seen; he'd have usually tackled him by now. Jogging up to Flare and giving her a hug, he stepped back and looked into her concerned eyes.
"Hey Flare, what's wrong? And where's Surtr?"
Her gestures and growls, along with her clearly pointing to the lab gave him all the clues he needed, yet only confused him more.
"The lab? Prof's got him in there? Why? He's not getting sick is he?" He really hoped not; that wouldn't be a good way to start the summer.
Flare only gave a confused shrug in response; she hadn't smelled any sickness upon her son, nor did he show any signs of it. She was getting worried; he could tell by the way her wing tips were minutely twitching. Getting worried himself, Ash ran to the lab, hoping he could do something if Surtr needed help. However, upon entering the lab he found it oddly quiet. Professor Oak was always doing something; either typing away at his computer, on a call with a fellow professor, or as would be the case now; treating a pokemon if it wasn't serious enough to need a pokemon center. Yet the lab was empty; the computers weren't even on. Looking around the lab, Ash finally found Oak in his personal study; but only because he was looking carefully and saw his white hair behind his large chair.
Having never seen the vibrant professor so still and silent, Ash was both disturbed at the scene and very worried about its timing. Wetting his now dry lips, Ash spoke up.
"Hey uh…professor? Sorry to bug you, but have you seen Surtr?"
The way the professor jerked violently in his chair, along with his choked gasp, did nothing to alleviate Ash's worry. When the chair turned around to reveal a ragged Oak with clear tear-tracks down his cheeks, an icy pit formed in Ash's stomach. For a moment Oak just stared at him, not seeming to know what to say, before he slumped tiredly into his chair as a hand reached up and massaged his brow for a moment before speaking.
"A-ash…" Oak takes a moment to clear his throat. "Ash. You remember when I told you I registered Surtr as a starter in secret, as incentive for you to continue to attend school on a regular basis?"
Ash only nodded, mouth suddenly too dry to speak. The discussion wasn't going the way he thought; he wasn't sure if the current course was better or worse.
"….Ash. Someone found out. I have my suspicions as to who, but that is irrelevant. What matters is that one of the graduating students put in a late request for a charmander as their starter pokemon. I would usually deny such a late request, but it was followed by a heavy suggestion from an….influential League member that the request would be granted. Ash, I only have one-" Here Oak grimaced before correcting himself. "had one charmander." As he finished, Professor Oak looked away, not being able to bear looking at Ash any longer.
For Ash, as Oak continued to speak, so too did a mix of feelings get stronger; disbelief, denial, horror, betrayal…all flowed through him in a churning, sickly mix, yet denial stood out the most; he must have heard wrong, or assumed incorrectly. Quietly, yet filled with a manic denial, Ash spoke.
"Professor…what are you trying to say? If ever I was to ask one thing of you it would be this; tell it to me straight." Already his mind was whirling, trying to figure out plans in case this nightmare was to become reality.
There was a pause before the man took a deep breath and seemed to steel himself before he nodded faintly and spoke. "He's gone, Ash. Early this morning, Surtr was given to the trainer who requested the charmander." In a quicker, desperate tone he continued. "You must understand, I didn't have a-"
Whatever else the Professor had to say, Ash didn't hear. The moment his fears were confirmed, Ash turned around and pelted out the lab like the hounds of hell were after him, his target: route 1. In a small corner of his mind, he could hear the muffled cursing and loud steps of Oak in the background, but he didn't care. Whoever took him had a head start; at least eight hours. Hopefully they stopped to train; if not then he'd just have to catch up as they rested for the night. Yet even as he thought this, issues cropped up in his mind; how was he to find them? How would he know just who had Surtr? Even if he did find them, how would he get Surtr? Stealing pokemon was enough to at the very least revoke any hope of being a trainer, yet how else would he-
Unknowingly to Ash, as he was deep in thought of how to save Surtr he slowed down just enough for his pursuers to catch up to him; Oak had enlisted the help of the ACE trainers after quickly explaining the situation to them. So lost in his thoughts as he was, he didn't even notice until one of them grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around and grappling him to the ground before he even realized what had happened.
"Whoah! Easy there kid, now wait just a minu-huurrggh!"
Whatever else he was about to say was knocked out of him violently, as Ash showed the fruits of training alongside creatures far stronger than a human. With a violent lurch Ash freed one of his arms, which he brought up behind him to dig painfully into the man's side. When the grip around him instinctively loosened, Ash rose to his feet with a tight, angry grimace and kept sprinting. Or he would have, if not for the large purple appendage that suddenly swiped his legs out from under him, then proceeded to wrap around his form snugly.
"Easy there Arbok, just tight enough to restrain! Sweet merciful Arceus, you alright there Aaron?"
Aforementioned 'Aaron', was currently staggering towards the other trainer, holding his side while Professor Oak followed close behind, winded from the short but intense chase.
"I'll be alright….eventually. But damn if that kid doesn't hit like a pissed off hitmonchan!" His eyes held both respect and anger towards Ash; he definitely wasn't expecting that kind of strength, yet he would have rather it not been directed at his kidneys. "A few days of pissing blood and I'll be right as rain." He joked in a crude manner; he'd dealt with far worse after all.
As the three men were composing themselves, Ash could have been mistaken for a rabid animal as he thrashed within the coils of the massive snake; he even tried to bite the arbok, but found out he was wrapped in a manner that would prevent him from doing so. Even despite this, the arbok was currently giving Ash a rather shocked look; while nowhere near as strong as himself, the child (is this really a child?!) was putting up a struggle that would do a pokemon proud. When it became apparent that he couldn't escape this way, Ash did something that made the snake decidedly uncomfortable; he begged unashamedly to him.
"Please….please let me go! They took my brother, took him and didn't even have the decency to tell me! If you have a heart you will let me go!" When all that accomplished was make the arbok look away uncomfortably, Ash switched tactics. "I'll give you anything, do anything you ask! If it is beyond my means currently then I'll find a wa-" He was cut off by the voice of the one person he least wanted to hear at the moment as the professor got in front of him.
"Ash! Ash that is enough, he is just following the commands of his trainer. There's no need to heap guilt on him just because-"
"Don't you dare speak of guilt to me, betrayer! I trusted you! WE trusted you! And you repaid our trust by handing over Surtr to some stranger without even the decency of letting Flare or I know! If you EVER want to restore my trust in you, you will let me go right now so I can-"
"Can what, Ash?! What will you do? You're smart, think! If you are somehow able to catch up to the trainers that have an eight-hour head start on you, and then if you can find them, and then if you find the right one with Surtr, what then? You'll demand he be handed over to you? Take him by force if you're refused? You'll lose any hope of ever being a trainer if you do that, and definitely never be given custody of Surtr! Don't throw your life away for this, Ash!"
During Oak's rant, Ash remained silent, pupils tightening in agony as Oak unknowingly mirrored Ash's own thoughts on the manner. His breathing grew heavy and his breath started to hitch as his own thoughts swarmed inside his head.
'He's right! There's nothing I can do; even if I am somehow able to get Surtr back, I'll be labeled as a criminal and have the League after me! That's not a life I want Surtr to live…and Flare would be heart broken. B-but how else can I…he's my brother! I c-can't just abandon him…I can't lose another family member! N-NOT AGAIN! PLEASE!'
If there was a psychiatrist with the group, they would have been able to recognize the signs that Ash was about to have a mental breakdown. Unfortunately they did not, so everyone in the vicinity (both humans and pokemon) were caught off guard as Ash for lack of a better word, broke. All the sorrow he held in from the death of Delia, the loneliness that followed afterwards, being ostracized by his peers, and now finally having a new family only to have his brother ripped away from him; it all came rushing out at once. What left Ash's mouth was not a shout, or a scream, or even a roar of rage; it was a keening, rising wail. It was a sound you would typically only hear if something was dying horrifically, and it was not a sound that the men around him knew could be produced from a human throat. Yet while the surrounding men and pokemon were stunned to silence; there was one exception. From behind the tree-line and hidden by the undergrowth, two eyes the color of the deep ocean burned with rage, quickly followed by a titanic bellow.
For Flare, she had been just as worried as Ash, and had thus followed him to the lab yet kept out of sight. While she could not hear nor see what was said inside the lab, she most certainly saw when Ash burst out of the lab in a dead sprint, clearly heading out towards the route outside the laboratory. When she saw the two men in clear pursuit of him, she nearly leapt out to protect Ash, but seeing her trainer following them close behind made her choose to stay put. If she was needed, Oak would let her know.
Seeing some upstart arbok wrap itself around her child drew a snarl to her face…but hearing what her trainer had to say to Ash left her stunned. She was in no way ignorant to the fact that her trainer had his faults; she had experienced many of them in her early days. Yet she could have never imagined he would just…give away her child, without even so much as letting her know! When an anguished wail erupted out of her other child, she cut off such musings; Oak may have his reasons, but she did not care to hear them. With an enraged roar she took to the air, intent on getting her child away from these people.
Back with the group, the enraged roar startled the ACE trainers and the arbok into looking up. Oak did so as well while paling; he knew that roar very well after all. With everyone else looking up, all missed when a short but intense blue pulse flashed out of Ash as he hit the height of his wail, and just as quickly the pulse dissipated. Yet even if they had noticed, none would have cared due to the extremely large, extremely pissed-off charizard bearing down on them. The arbok had just enough time to widen its eyes in fear before Flare used her downward momentum to land a devastatingly powerful Brick Break right on its skull, instantly knocking the snake out and most likely giving it a rather painful concussion. The arbok's coils had barely begun to loosen before Flare was scooping an unresponsive Ash up into her claws carefully. With a contemptuous snort at the ACE trainers and a disturbingly hateful glare at Oak, Flare took off towards the wilds; leaving two dumbfounded trainers and a heartbroken professor behind.
Despite the best efforts of Professor Oak and a small contingent of League trainers, none could find either Flare or Ash. It would only be when classes resumed three months later that they both returned, yet the events had clearly left their mark upon Ash.
-Scene Break-
When Ash and Flare returned to the ranch, they were almost instantly approached by both Oak and the League team lent to him. Flare flatly ignored all of them, only giving Ash a concerned look. At his nod and a small smile at her, she gave him a reassuring nudge before taking off deep into the ranch; Ash knew where to find her, and she wanted nothing to do with her trainer.
Back with Ash, Oak was relieved to see Ash smile, yet that relief was short lived when he turned away from the fading form of Flare. When he faced them, he lost all traces of joy on his face, and instead replaced it with a flat neutrality. The same could not be said for his brown eyes, which seemed to peer at the League trainers like he would peer at something under a microscope. When the teenager's eyes turned to him, he could only detect disgust; he could not even see any anger at him, which perhaps hurt all the more. It meant Ash didn't even consider him worthy of his anger anymore. When asked where he had been and what made him return, his answer was short, clipped and cold.
"Where I've been is not your concern, and I've come back to finish my training and obtain my license, nothing more."
When Oak pointed out that as his guardian it was his concern as to his whereabouts, his response make the professor unwilling to push the matter further.
"Perhaps if you had spent more time being a 'guardian' to me than kowtowing to political pressure, I would believe your claim. The only guardian I have just flew away to rest, and if you don't mind I'd prefer to join her; it was a long flight back after all, and I can't stomach being around you any longer than necessary."
It was perhaps some of the harshest words ever directed towards him, but Professor Oak couldn't refute them; despite the circumstances and timing being atrocious, he had still betrayed Ash's trust. He did not know if he would ever regain said trust, but he wasn't going to jeopardize it by interrogating the teenager. Gesturing for the League team with him to stand down, he let Ash go; his form quickly being swallowed by the forest.
-Scene Break-
The year between Ash's fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays was perhaps the most uncomfortable for everyone who knew Ash; especially his classmates. While before they had given him thinly veiled looks of disgust for his attire and unkempt demeanor, they certainly did not expect the tables to turn. Instead of the silent awkwardness he exuded the years before, now he returned their looks with a far more potent one aimed towards them. His interactions with them went from stilted and awkward to glacial with thinly disguised hostility. Unbeknownst to them, the fact that his brother was stolen from him due to the spoilt wishes of a rich boy had embittered him towards the 'upper class'. Their constant looks of contempt from the years before only served to reinforce this view in his mind and lend it further credence. This, combined with the fact that Professor Oak was the only other human he used to spend time with, guaranteed that outside of class, Ash Ketchum was rarely seen by the other humans that resided there.
Ash's interactions with pokemon also underwent a change, and although it was a painful thing to observe, Flare and his other trainers understood. Traumatic experiences have a way of changing a person. Ash no longer rough-housed with the young pokemon, instead preferring to 'light-spar' with the more experienced members of the ranch. Granted, he was by no means able to match them in might, but as he was pushed further and further, he was able to last longer each time. This especially helped improve his reaction time and subconscious reflexes; no one likes getting smacked around, after all.
Yet perhaps the biggest difference in Ash was during the evenings; typically when Flare and others would teach him. Ash instead took this time to talk to the pokemon of the ranch and ask them two simple yet profound questions: did you want to be caught, and do you wish you were still a wild pokemon. This was the largest change in Ash Ketchum; he realized something when Surtr was ripped away from them.
Pokemon, once caught, had almost no way of escape.
It was a thought that had him wretch where he stood the first time it occurred to him during his time away from the laboratory. No matter what scenario he ran through his head, there was nothing Surtr could do to escape. One click of a button would see him returned to his pokeball, willing or not. If he tried to retrieve his pokeball by force, not only would he have to make sure his trainer was unaware, but he would almost certainly have to harm the trainer to get to the ball. If that were to happen, it would spell doom for him; pokemon that attack their trainers have one of two things happen to them depending on the severity. First and best scenario is that Surtr would be turned over to the league for 'rehabilitation'; the second scenario is that they deem him too dangerous to humans and put him down. His two options were imprisonment or death. This was why Ash spent his first month back talking to as many of the ranch pokemon as he could; he wanted a larger pool of information to make his decision on.
The results he gained varied, and thankfully it wasn't as bad as he feared. Most of the trainer pokemon no longer wished to return to the wild; the benefits of training outweighed the loss of freedom for them; and most of those enjoyed spending time with their trainers. Yet it was the smaller, yet still sizeable, group that impacted Ash the most. Some of the pokemon very much wished to be back in the wild; most of those he asked either had mates and children, or were children themselves when they were captured. Interestingly enough, there was one glaring difference between those who didn't mind being captured versus those who despised it. Those whom didn't mind being captured almost universally lived on or around the routes that spanned between cities. Those whom despised capture generally lived further out from the routes; pokemon weren't stupid after all. They knew very well that the chances of being caught increased greatly the closer you lived to a route or city.
All of this led Ash to making a rather radical decision, especially considering how close to graduation he was; Ash no longer strived to become a pokemon master. To him, the title now felt akin to a slave master. While he would still register as a trainer, he promised to himself (and a worried Flare) that he would do things differently. He would do the gym circuit and play by their rules…for now. With a newfound purpose, Ash spend the remainder of his time at the ranch continuing to hone his reflexes and physical attributes, patiently waiting for his graduation.
-Scene Break-
Professor Oak wasn't surprised when Ash showed up half an hour early for his starter pokemon; the young man tended to avoid his fellow classmates as much as humanly possible. What did surprise him his that Ash didn't request any specific starter pokemon as most did; yet as soon as that thought entered his mind, Oak winced. 'I suppose his chosen starter was taken a year ago…'
"Professor."
The cold, short address was one he had unfortunately grown accustomed to the past year, yet that did nothing to quell the pang in his chest. Standing up, Oak turned his head to address the young man as he gathered the items given upon graduation; namely a pokedex and five pokeballs.
"Ah, early as expected Ash. I assume you're here to get your gear and head out before the others arrive, am I right? That being said, since you didn't request a starter pokemon, I've been thinking about giving you this male nidoran I caught about a month ago; his personality would mesh well with your I wou-"
"I'm not taking a starter, professor."
The words stopped Oak in his tracks. Turning to give his full attention to Ash and hoping he misheard, he responded.
"I'm sorry Ash, could you repeat that? I could have sworn you said you were refusing a starter."
"That's exactly what I'm saying, professor."
The calm, assured reply did nothing to quell Oak's sudden cold sweat. Starter pokemon were not just given as a means of congratulations; they were also for protection. It was no secret that humans were vastly weaker than pokemon; even young non-evolved pokemon could kill a human quickly if properly motivated. Yet for all the dangers….technically, Ash could deny a starter. There was no law against it, that'd be like making a law saying it's against the law to kill yourself; utterly pointless. Still….
"Ash, think about this! Route one may be one of the 'tamest' routes, but by no means does that mean it's safe! If you were to run astr-"
"I'm very aware of the dangers, professor. Now please give me my gear so I can be on my way; I'd like to take advantage of the daylight as much as I can."
Recognizing an effort in futility, Oak winced and gathered the needed items. One might wonder why he would capitulate so quickly, being Ash's legal guardian after all. That would be answered by a simple statement; he wasn't Ash's guardian anymore. Contrary to what most people believe, the life of a trainer can be one of the most dangerous career choices possible. You are constantly pitted against creatures far deadlier than you, and your only line of defense is other creatures you have captured. An unspoken and seldom heard truth is that many young trainers go missing within their first year of becoming a trainer; filled with dreams of competing in the league and becoming famous, they underestimate the wilds and often just….disappear. It is because of this danger that not only was the age limit of becoming a trainer changed from ten to sixteen (prepubescent children wondering the wilds; great idea!), but also that upon graduation to a trainer, they were considered adults by the league; aka no more guardians.
Thus, it was a despondent Professor Oak that handed over a pokedex and five pokeballs to Ash. Without so much as another word, Ash walked out and straight towards route one; he had already said his goodbyes to the pokemon (especially Flare) of the ranch, and it wasn't as if anyone else would miss him.
As Oak watched the young man walk out of sight, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever hear of him again.
And that's the prologue for this story, folks. A few things before I wrap this up; there will be quite a bit more talking in the main story than there was in here. This chapter was all about building up Ash's character and his history; what makes him so different from what he's typically envisioned as. Secondly, and yes I realize the hate I will receive for this; no, Pikachu is not in this story. I pondered over this decision quite a bit, but the final decision was made and I chose a different path. Hope you guys have enjoyed it, let me know via review if you want. -Aarik076